Babies’ NICU-To-Home Transition Gets Helping Hand With Home Visits

OFF IC IAL PUBL ICAT ION OF THE MISS ISS IPP I HOSP ITAL ASSOCIAT IONwww.mhanet.org Volume 22 • Number 1 Summer 2017

Editor in Chief: Shawn Rossi

Advertising Manager: David Brown

Graphic Artist: Brad Stark

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

James H. Jackson II, ChairmanGreenwood Leflore Hospital, Greenwood

James Huffman, Chairman-ElectBaptist Memorial Hospital, Desoto

Alvin Hoover, FACHE, Past ChairmanKing’s Daughters Medical Center, Brookhaven

MHADwayne Blaylock – River Oaks Medical Center, FlowoodDaryl Weaver – Baptist Medical Center Leake, Carthage

Evan S. Dillard, FACHE – Forrest General Hospital, HattiesburgSemmes Ross, Jr. – Lawrence County Hospital, MonticelloShane Spees – North Mississippi Health Services, Tupelo

Paul Cade – Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle, ColumbusLester K. Diamond, FACHE – St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital, Jackson

Scott Christensen – Delta Regional Medical Center, GreenvilleBrenda Waltz – Garden Park Medical Center, Gulfport

Donnie Smith – Rush Health Systems, MeridianPaul Black – Winston Medical Center, Louisville

Greg Havard – George Regional Health System, LucedaleWanda B. Cooper – Anderson Regional Medical Center, Meridian

MHA SOLUTIONSBrian Craven – Magnolia Regional Health Center, Corinth

Kevin Cook – University Health Systems, Jackson Randy King – Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation, Memphis

John Dawson, FACHE – Montfort Jones Memorial Hospital, KosciuskoLee McCall – Neshoba County General Hospital, Philadelphia

EXECUTIVE STAFFTimothy H. Moore, President/CEO

Marcella L. McKay, Chief Operating Officer, MHA, and President/CEO of MHA Health, Research, and Educational Foundation, Inc.

Richard Grimes, Chief Financial Officer

Edward L. Foster, President/CEO of MHA Solutions Inc.

Lowry Chapman, Vice President for Information Systems

Richard Roberson, Vice President for Policy and State Advocacy

Shawn Rossi, Vice President for Education & Public Relations

Mendal Kemp, Director of the Center for Rural Health

Joyce Pearson, Program Manager for the Office of Bioterrorism Preparedness

Julie McNeese, Vice President/MHA Solutions

Curnis Upkins, Vice President for Human Resources and Workforce

Steve Lesley, Director of Data Services

Terri Barnett, Director of Accounting

Jim Martin, Director of Unemployment Insurance Program

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MISSISSIPPI HOSPITALS Mississippi Hospitals is distributed to all hospital executives, managers, trustees, physicians, state legislators, the congressional delegation and other friends of the hospitals

of Mississippi. News: P.O. Box 1909, Madison, MS 39130-1909, (601) 368-3237, Fax (601) 368-3200, e-mail slea@mhanet.org. Visit our home page and article archive at www.mshospitals.

com. Subscriptions come with membership in one of MHA’s affiliate groups. Postmaster: please send change of address notices to Mississippi Hospitals, P.O. Box 1909, Madison, MS 39130-1909.

Edition 82

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

This year, National Hospital Week is set for May 7-13. This year’s theme is “The Healing Heart of Healthcare” – and the Mississippi Hospital Association staff wanted to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all hospital employees during this special week. We hope this magazine shows readers all year long how hospitals are the healing heart of health care in Mississippi.

After Hurricane Katrina, MHA established a Care Fund to raise monies for hospital employees in need after that disaster. The fund has been activated several times for tornadoes and other disasters to benefit hospital employees.

Last year, in honor of National Hospital Week, MHA made plans to keep the fund open year-round – and donated $5,000 in the name of all Mississippi hospital employees to kick-off the fund-raising. These funds helped hospital employees affected by tornadoes in the Hattiesburg area this year.

Now, these funds will be available year-round during any disaster that affects hospital employees. An employee who has suffered a disaster only need ask his or her hospital CEO for directions on how to apply for financial assistance to receive help.

This year, in addition to donating $5,000 to the fund ourselves, we are encouraging others to “Have a Heart” during National Hospital Week and make a contribution of their own. Find out more about how you can help or donate online at www.mhacares.com.

Sincerely,

I n T h i s I s s u eI n T h i s I s s u eI n T h i s I s s u eAnderson Offers New Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea .......4

Babies’ NICU-To-Home Transition Gets Helping Hand With Home Visits ..6

OCH Auxiliary Gift Shop Helps Future Bulldog Achieve Her Dream 8

Playtime begins ....................................................................... 10

Highest honor .......................................................................... 12

Mississippi physician-scientist brings dual perspective to new

role as president of the American Spinal Injury Association ....... 14

Open and Shut Case ................................................................. 18

Baptist Hospice grants ‘Priceless Wish’ To faithful MSU fan ........ 20

NMMC, Children’s of Mississippi Partner on Children’s Clinic of Tupelo & Saltillo ..................................................... 22

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Anderson Regional Sleep Disorders Center is now offering Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS) therapy, a breakthrough treatment option for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for those who cannot use Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy.

More than 18 million Americans have sleep apnea. Depending on the degree of severity, OSA can be a potentially life-threatening condition. Recent research shows that a person with poorly managed sleep apnea is at increased risk for heart attack, stroke, weight gain, high blood pressure and heart failure. While CPAP is often successful, studies show that roughly half of all patients that start CPAP eventually become non-compliant.

“Until now, Mississippi’s only provider of Inspire therapy was University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson,” said John G. Anderson, President and CEO of Anderson Regional Health System. Patients were traveling to Jackson or possibly Birmingham to receive treatment that is now available close to home. We are committed to continue providing our patients with new treatment options that improve their quality of life.”

Inspire therapy is the first implantable device for treating OSA. In contrast to CPAP, Inspire therapy works from inside the body and with a patient’s natural breathing process. The implantable

system includes a small generator, a sensing lead and a stimulation lead. Turned on by a handheld remote, it delivers mild stimulation to key airway muscles, which keeps the airway open during sleep. For more information on how Inspire therapy works, please visit www.inspiresleep.com.

“In our practice we see many patients who have stopped using or are unable to tolerate CPAP,” said Dr. Kary Whitehead, Sleep Medicine Specialist at Anderson Regional Sleep Disorders Center. “Inspire therapy represents a significant advance in sleep apnea treatment. It is clinically proven to reduce sleep apnea events and also has a high level of patient satisfaction and therapy adherence. We are excited to now offer this promising therapy to sleep apnea patients who struggle with CPAP.”

Dr. Whitehead is working closely with Dr. Cody Aull, Otolaryngologist at Anderson Ear, Nose and Throat Center, who implants the Inspire therapy neurostimulator in an outpatient setting at Anderson Regional Medical Center.

In the STAR (Stimulation Therapy for Apnea Reduction) trial, a pivotal clinical trial that tested the safety and efficacy of Inspire therapy, patients experienced a significant reduction in sleep apnea events and significant improvement in quality of life measures. These results were published in the January 9, 2014 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Patients who are interested in learning more should call 601-553-6366 to set up an evaluation with Dr. Whitehead at Anderson Regional Sleep Disorders Center.

4

Anderson Offers New Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Dr. Cody Aull, Otolaryngologist Kary Whitehead, Sleep Medicine Specialist

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A healthy baby home sooner. That’s the goal of a new partnership

between Children’s of Mississippi and Sta-Home, a home health agency based in Jackson.

The dilemma, said Fran Malenzi, director of newborn services for the University of Mississippi Medical Center, was that some babies, those whose health and strength are growing, could go home from the neonatal intensive care unit if parents had the support of a home health nurse stopping in to check on progress.

Without that transitional support, those babies would stay in the NICU, she said.

Children’s of Mississippi “built a program with Sta-Home from the ground up,” she said, “so we can care for these babies.”

Available in Hinds, Rankin, Madison, Simpson and Holmes counties, the program began in

December. Carleigh Jae Course was among the first babies to be in the program.

She and twin brother, Carter, now 6 months old, were born at about 24 weeks, Carleigh Jae at 1 pound, 10 ounces, and Carter just one ounce heavier than his sister. Carter came home after a three-month stay at the NICU, but Carleigh Jae, still on oxygen, stayed four months.

Sta-Home’s Shelley Fowler, a registered nurse, began visiting Carleigh Jae every few days, checking her length, weight, head circumference, feeding and oxygen saturation. The bright-eyed little girl is now weaned off oxygen and weighs 11 pounds 13.5 ounces.

Mom Brittney Course of Pearl said having a home health nurse check in as part of the new program is a help in transitioning to having Carleigh Jae home. “As a mother, it puts my mind

at ease knowing Shelley is stopping in.”

Fowler, who previously worked at UMMC’s NICU, said working with the Course family has been a joy. “Brittney and I have become friends,” she said, “and Carleigh is so sweet.”

The Course family’s experience is one UMMC and Sta-Home would like to replicate.

As the program was being created, all involved worked to define criteria to identify babies who would qualify, the process for discharging those babies to home and home health visits and communication procedures in which Sta-Home nurses can reach Children’s of Mississippi staff quickly when needed.

“We’ve built a collaboration with Sta-Home,” said Dr. Mobolaji Famuyide, associate professor of neonatology and NICU medical director, “so we can care for babies in

6

Babies’ NICU-To-Home Transition Gets Helping Hand With Home Visits

Shelley Fowler, a Sta-Home nurse, visits Carleigh Jae Course of Pearl as she transitions home from NICU care.

our NICU and subsequently transition them into the community in a safe and time-sensitive manner when they are medically ready.”

“We want this program to offer the best outcomes for families,” Malenzi said. “We’re seeking a good hand-off between our team and the Sta-Home team, and we want to involve the pediatrician in the community who is taking care of the baby back home.”

This partnership provides significant benefits for both the community and UMMC, said Famuyide.

“When medically safe, the home environment is the best place to foster the development of a newborn and also provide optimal mother-baby bonding. The benefits of these are invaluable.

“When a baby goes home earlier, it frees NICU space for another seriously

ill baby,” she said. “The reduced length of hospital stay also allows UMMC to reinvest these resources into providing optimal care for another baby. It is a win-win situation for the baby, the family, the community and UMMC.”

Peggy Stewart, Sta-Home’s Jackson provider administrator, and Brittany Edwards, director of the project for Sta-Home, both say the partnership between the home health agency and UMMC is running smoothly for all involved.

“We’re happy to be a partner with UMMC,” said Stewart, “in helping babies have the healthiest transition from hospital to home.”

Billy Needham, a nurse educator at UMMC, said the nursing visits can be eyes and ears for physicians. “Sta-Home nurses are an extension of us at UMMC and hopefully will

catch any problems early to keep kids from coming back to the Emergency Department.”

Home health nurses are able to monitor babies’ feeding and weight gain, respiratory status and oxygen requirement as well as basic developmental progress, Famuyide said. “We want to ensure that the progression of the baby’s status is in the right direction.”

Communication in the program is designed to be fast, Famuyide said, “so if help is needed from us at UMMC, there will be no delay.”

Another critical facet of the program is working with local pediatricians, she said, as they’ll be the primary provider for these children in the community. “We have created a system to provide a good hand-off so they are well informed when they take over.”

7

Carleigh Jae Course now weighs 11 pounds, 13.5 ounces.

What’s the key to paying for college tuition? Some say it’s through savings, scholarships and grants, but for Morgan Tibbens, it’s bath bombs. Tibbens is a 17-year-old sophomore from Lewisburg High School in Olive Branch, Mississippi, who has dreams of attending Mississippi State University’s ACCESS program. The MSU ACCESS program helps students with mental disabilities transition into higher education, while providing additional support and services to help them thrive in academic and social settings.

“My dream is to go to Mississippi State in the ACCESS Program and be a Bulldog,” wrote Tibbens on her company’s, “Da Bombs,” Facebook page. “When colleges started coming to my high school and talking to us about

our future plans, I realized that I wanted to be a Bulldog and go to college with all of my friends. I started my own bath bomb business to earn money to make my college dreams come true.”

Lauren Gardner, Volunteer Services Coordinator at OCH Regional Medical Center, heard about Tibbens’ story through a friend and contacted Tibbens through Facebook to sell her bath bombs at the OCH Auxiliary Gift Shop.

“We were the first store in Starkville to contact her about selling the bath bombs and she was so excited,” said Gardner.

Tibbens even made a scent especially for OCH, called the “Bully Bomb,”

which has paw print charms in it and was the first one to sell out. OCH’s first order of bath bombs sold out within two hours, and the second order sold out within three days.

“We’re a community-oriented hospital and Mississippi State University’s hometown hospital,” said Gardner, “We love to reach out and help students in any way we can. This is a way for the community to help a young lady attend Mississippi State University and gain college experience. I am so glad to be working towards making Morgan’s dreams come true.”

Part of the proceeds from the sales of the bath bombs will not only help Tibbens reach her goal of getting to college, but it will also help other students as well. Through sales in the gift shop, the OCH Auxiliary awards scholarships to students pursuing a degree in the medical field.

OCH also offers volunteer opportunities for MSU students, and currently has over 75 student volunteers. To learn more about how to become a volunteer, contact Lauren Gardner at 662-615-3065 or visit och.org/volunteer-opportunities.

“Da Bombs” are made from all natural ingredients and can be purchased at the OCH Auxiliary Gift Shop, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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OCH Auxiliary Gift Shop Helps Future Bulldog Achieve Her Dream

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Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s spinal cord injury support group plans to hold a future meeting at Playtime, a restaurant/arcade that opened last April in Clinton.

But it’s not just for the fun, food and games. The group also wants to show support for one of its most dedicated members.

Playtime owner Sancho Johnson, 44, is a spinal cord injury survivor who joined the support group after he was injured in 2009.

“Sancho has been a great resource for us to have for others,” said MRC occupational therapist Suzanne Colbert. “He’s always been willing to come talk to people and is always so positive about everything. He’s been a mainstay at the meetings for years. If I call him for anything, he’s always willing to help.”

Colbert manages the support group, which meets the third Tuesday of every month. It is open to all spinal cord injury survivors, their families and caregivers. The group provides an open forum for attendees to share their stories, and, as Johnson has done, a message of hope.

“I’ve seen people go through a lot of setbacks after being injured,” Johnson said. “But life for everyone has hardships. What I want everyone to know is that it’s important to embrace where you are and know that you are beautiful and you can be loved and you can love in return.”

Johnson was a lieutenant in the Coast Guard on the island of Saint Thomas in the Caribbean at the time of his injury. While on vacation on the nearby island of Dominica, he severely hurt his back and right shoulder. He was initially airlifted to an acute care hospital in Miami, over 900 miles from his home of Jackson.

Because of his military status, Johnson said he was at first told he would have to go to rehab in either Denver or Atlanta.

But he knew that Methodist Rehabilitation Center was a hometown hospital that specializes in spinal cord injury care. So he pushed for a transfer there.

“Methodist Rehab wasn’t initially on the list as an option. But when I told them I needed to be close to family and friends, they worked it out for me because it was ideal for my situation,” he said.

His injuries left Johnson with limited use of his right hand and reliant on a wheelchair. And when he got to MRC, he found the hard work of rehab daunting.

“I had never been out of bed after my injury until I got to Methodist,” Johnson said. “I’ll never forget my first day of therapy—sitting up made me nauseated, and I threw up. I thought, ‘I can’t do this.’”

He credits MRC staff like therapy manager and occupational therapist Bridgett Pelts with giving him the motivation to soldier on.

“I was in a lot of pain, and Bridgett used to push me through that pain,” Johnson said. “Even though it hurt and I would want to stop, she would ask for a little bit more.”

Pelts says she provided the means for Johnson to achieve his own goals.

“I think whether he knew it or not, he was already motivated because he was ready to get back home and to his life,” Pelts said. “He had an incredibly positive attitude and was very goal-oriented. Whether the task each day was learning to put on his pants or his shoes, or learning how to transfer to the tub bench or the shower chair, he pushed himself hard. I pushed him, but pushed him to problem solve for himself rather than giving him the answers. We both knew I wasn’t going home with him, so we had to get him as independent as possible.”

After a nearly three-month stay at MRC, Johnson finally got to go home.

“I saw myself starting to get better,

After regaining his independence through inpatient and outpatient therapy at Methodist Rehabilitation Center, spinal cord injury survivor Sancho Johnson became an entrepreneur. He opened Playtime, a family-friendly restaurant and arcade located in Clinton in April 2016.

Playtime beginsAs a MRC patient, spinal cord injury survivor Sancho Johnson gained the

independence to open his own business

By Carey MillerHealth and Research News Service

11

but slowly,” Johnson said. “At first I didn’t really know what to make of a lot of what I was learning at MRC, but when I got home it all started to make sense. I had learned how to do things for myself.”

Meanwhile, Johnson continued his therapy with weekly sessions at MRC’s Outpatient Rehabilitation facility in Flowood.

“I just fell in love with my therapists out there,” Johnson said.

The feeling was mutual.“Sancho was always such a good

spirit,” said Colbert, who served as his occupational therapist. “Even with all he had going on, he was always upbeat and wanted to work hard and learn anything he could to take care of himself. We really worked on his right arm, to get him as independent as we could with that injury.”

“Suzanne was really tough on me, even more so than Bridgett!” Johnson said. “But we got to become really good friends, and when they decided to start the support group, I was all for it, to help in any way I could.”

Johnson says he knows what it’s like to go through a period of uncertainty after returning home from the hospital.

“At first, I played a lot of Xbox, but then I got hooked on watching HGTV and home repair shows,” he said. “So I thought about getting into rental properties. I started off buying foreclosed properties, rehabbing them, and turning them into rentals.”

Opening Playtime was inspired by Johnson’s life as a new dad and his desire to bring an establishment similar to popular chains like Dave & Buster’s to the metro area.

“I got married in 2012, and my wife already had two kids,” he said. “I realized there wasn’t a lot for family entertainment—of course, before then I never really had to account for that, it was just me!

“We thought about starting a business together that would be a good

opportunity for family entertainment. That was our original concept. But then we started to think about how there wasn’t a lot for adults to do either—so I thought, why not cater to both?”

Playtime features arcade games like skee ball and air hockey and classics like Pac-Man, among others. The restaurant has a full menu with daily specials, and serves beer and wine for the adults.

“I always felt like Sancho would find a niche in something he really enjoyed, and I know that one thing for sure is making other people happy,” Colbert said. “I think that opening Playtime was

a great route for him to decide to go.”“I think through it all I’ve learned

that it all begins mentally,” Johnson said. “Before you can do anything physically, you have to accept where you are. Then you have to ask yourself what you’re going to do about it. You can either let your disability define you, or you define your disability. I choose the latter.”

MRC’s spinal cord injury support group is open to all spinal cord injury survivors, their families and caregivers. For more information, call Suzanne Colbert at 601-936-8889.

An avid gamer himself, Sancho Johnson hand-picked the arcade games featured at Playtime, like this World’s Largest Pac-Man machine.

12

Only 4 percent of all Boy Scouts make it to Eagle, the highest rank. It’s an honor even more significant for four young black men from Jackson. Only 1 percent of black Scouts reach Eagle.

“It’s been like reaching the end of the road on a long journey,” said Brent Price.

Price, Deshuntez Williams, Marcello Williams and Jerion Keyes are all scouts from Troop 401, sponsored by Methodist Rehabilitation Center, a Jackson inpatient rehabilitation hospital. The four were presented their Eagle at a Court of Honor held at the hospital on Dec. 17.

“Getting my Eagle has made all the hard stuff we’ve been through—like sleeping in the woods and being scared of raccoons—worth it,” Keyes said. “We’ve grown into a brotherhood. Boy Scouts has developed us into men. We’ve learned the leadership skills required in order to be successful in life.”

Deshuntez Williams says he’s been grateful for the camaraderie scouting provides.

“It’s helped me deal with some issues. I wasn’t a very social person,” he said. “Now I have friends for life.”

For a troop with only 16 active

scouts, having four Eagles in one year is a remarkable achievement. Troop 401 has produced 27 Eagle Scouts.

“On a yearly basis, you have about 200 or so Eagle Scouts to come out of the Andrew Jackson Council here in central Mississippi,” assistant scoutmaster Steve Cooper said. “If you divide that by the number of troops, that’s roughly 4 to 5 per troop, but in that you have big units like Troop 1 that are 150-member troops.

“So if you consider the size of our troop, as well as the fact that our kids come out of south and west Jackson, out of rough neighborhoods, to see four of them earn their Eagle, well that’s just spectacular.”

Troop 401 was founded at MRC in 1989 to introduce scouting to boys with disabilities. When current Scoutmaster Betty Dorsey-Wilson took over in 1998, the troop began to include the children of employees. Today, the troop focuses on disadvantaged youth in the Jackson metro area.

“I brought my son into the scouts after he crossed over from the Webelos,” said Dorsey-Wilson, a therapy technician at MRC, who has been with the hospital since

it opened in 1975. “MRC’s scoutmaster at the time was leaving, and I was asked to take over. I studied scouting and ended up earning my Wood Badge—it’s like the Ph.D of scouting.”

Today, Dorsey-Wilson’s son Corey Wilson, himself an Eagle Scout, serves as assistant scoutmaster.

“I’ve stuck with this troop throughout my adolescent and adult life because I have a bond with these guys,” Wilson said. “Being a Eagle Scout myself, and seeing these four guys grow up since elementary school, it really warms my heart to have seen them come this far.”

Cooper is another former troop member who earned his Eagle.

“This troop was my starting ground for scouting,” Cooper said. “I went on to become the 2015-2016 lodge chief—that’s the highest scouting youth position in the council. I’ve been to national scouting events, I’ve seen the highest level. But coming back home and being able to see four scouts that I led through daily activities earn their Eagle, that’s a wonderful thing.”

The scouts have given back to MRC by donating their Eagle projects to the hospital. All four have built devices for therapy.

Troop 401 Scoutmaster Betty Dorsey-Wilson leads the pledge for their Eagle Scouts, from left, Jerion Keyes, Brent Price, Deshuntez Williams and Marcello Williams.

By Carey MillerHealth and Research News ServiceHighest honor

Four scouts from MRC-sponsored Boy Scout Troop 401 earn their Eagle rank

13

“Most of our projects are giving back to MRC,” Dorsey-Wilson said. “Eagle projects have to be for a nonprofit organization, and we always like to do what we can to say thank you back to MRC for sponsoring our guys.

“If it wasn’t for MRC and the employees here who help me with fundraisers and donations, these boys would never have had an opportunity to be part of scouting or able to achieve the things that they have done.”

The scouts visited MRC to familiarize themselves with the rehab process and to get ideas for what type of devices were needed.

“Because we’re sponsored by MRC, I think it’s very important for them to understand what rehab is and what services we offer, so we do what we call a disability awareness class,” Dorsey-Wilson said. “There is also a merit badge for disability awareness.”

Price and Marcello Williams both built separate bean bag toss devices that are useful in therapy for patients to regain fine motor skills.

“I really wanted to help the patients out, to help them get their strength back because my aunt recently suffered a stroke too,” Marcello Williams said.

Keyes built two collapsible balance benches for stroke patients, while Deshuntez Williams built a ring toss that aids in the rehab process.

“I was inspired by my next door neighbor who had a stroke,” he said. “The ring toss helps with the patient’s movement of their hands.”

The foursome’s projects exemplify the Boy Scouts’ slogan, “Do a good turn daily.” It’s a motto Dorsey-Wilson says she has taken to heart in her 15-plus years as Scoutmaster of Troop 401.

“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to take chemo, it was very, very hard,” said Dorsey-Wilson, who was diagnosed in 1999. “But when my guys found out I was ill, they were all so sad and they gathered around me saying, ‘Miss Betty, we’re not going camping unless you go.’

“From that day forward, I realized that my strength came from doing for other people, and that’s what scouting is all about. It makes me feel good to know I made a difference in these kids lives, and also hopefully the ones yet to come along.”

In late December, Dorsey-Wilson was in an auto accident and suffered multiple injuries. She is now rehabbing at MRC, where her scouts are once more showing their support. She hopes to return to her role as scoutmaster as soon as she is able.

Troop 401 is currently raising funds for 2017 activities. To make a donation, visit www.gofundme.com/boy-scout-troop-401-jackson-ms.

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14

Mississippi physician-scientist brings dual perspective to new role as president of the American Spinal Injury Association

Dr. Keith Tansey has a thing for hats.

A bowler, a top hat, a cowboy hat and even an Indian headdress are part of a collection that gets bigger every time he visits a new city for a medical conference.

Tansey travels to Albuquerque in late April to assume the presidency of the American Spinal Injury Association—the premier

North American organization in the field of SCI care, education and research.

And it’s a given he’ll leave the group’s annual conference wearing a lot more hats. His new role joins a list of responsibilities already 62 words long.

The Ridgeland, Miss. neurologist is a senior scientist for the Center for Neuroscience and

Neurological Recovery at Methodist Rehabilitation Center, a professor in the departments of neurosurgery and neurobiology and anatomical sciences in the Neurotrauma Center of the Neuro Institute at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and a physician for the Spinal Cord Injury Medicine and Research Services at the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Veterans

It’s a good thing Dr. Keith Tansey likes collecting headgear. He’ll be wearing a lot of hats as he combines his new role as American Spinal Injury Association president with his duties at Methodist Rehabilitation Center, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Veterans Administration Medical Center, all in Jackson, Miss.

By Susan ChristensenHealth and Research News Service

Administration Medical Center.Custom-tailored to his talents,

the trio of jobs lured Tansey to Jackson, Miss. in March, 2016. At the time, he was a physician-scientist in Atlanta.

“I was looking for a way to continue my three-pronged approach of basic lab research, human research and clinical care,” said Tansey. “And I found Jackson has top-notch scientists and human laboratory capacity that’s only present in a handful of places in this country.”

While some of his big city colleagues may have puzzled over Tansey’s decision to leave a major metropolitan area, ASIA Executive

Director Patricia Duncan wasn’t the least bit surprised.

“Keith always goes toward the future and what he can do to make things better for patients, as well as science,” she said. “He never stays with the status quo.”

True to his nature, Tansey did not ascend to the ASIA leadership ranks via a traditional path. He began his rise from the research side.

“In 2005, he submitted an abstract on one of his rat studies, and he won a best paper award at the annual meeting,” Duncan said. “That is what started him in the organization, and he moved up from there.

“I’m extremely excited about him becoming our president because he’ll be our first M.D./Ph.D. All his

15

Dr. Keith Tansey

continued on page 16

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colleagues from both sides have the utmost respect for him. He’s our bridge.”

Tansey didn’t set out to straddle the divide between lab-based researchers and practicing physicians. But after finishing medical training in neurology and a Ph.D. in spinal cord physiology, he felt pulled in both directions.

As a physician, he wanted to improve the lives of patients left disabled by neurological injuries or illness. “It’s very hard to look at a 20-year-old who just found out he’s going to be significantly impaired and not want to come up with solutions,” he said.

But as a scientist, Tansey also knew the allure of making discoveries in the lab. “The thrill of the aha moment is really, really seductive,” he said. “I like asking how and why.”

Today, Tansey does much of his detective work in the recently expanded NeuroRobotics Lab in the Center for Neuroscience and Neurological Recovery, which is the research arm of Methodist Rehab.

The center’s administrative director of research is Dr. Dobrivoje Stokic. And as someone who played a major role in recruiting Tansey to Mississippi, Stokic likes that Tansey is assuming a national leadership role.

“His credentials, as the president of ASIA and one of the editors of an upcoming spinal cord injury book, will enhance our capacity to attract talent to Mississippi,” Stokic said. “And his participation in our thriving

research program will expand opportunities for securing grant funding that will allow people to participate in groundbreaking studies and experience innovative treatments as they are being developed.”

The CNNR’s 4,500-square-foot space has recently been upgraded with more than $700,000 worth of robotic therapy devices that Methodist researchers plan to put to good use.

“Besides their use in therapy, what’s exciting to me is the devices are very good at collecting data and setting up experimental conditions to test hypotheses,” Tansey said.

And high on his list of mysteries to solve is why spinal cord injury patients have less sensation, but more pain, and less movement, but more spasms.

“We need to figure out how to get the nervous system that remains after spinal cord injury to reorganize in the best way to recover lost functions, while

simultaneously limiting abnormal function,” he said.

Tansey treats patients at the Jackson VA, but it’s not the only reason he’s intimately aware of the daily impact of a neurological disease or injury.

“I’m probably heavily influenced by my grandfather who had multiple sclerosis,” he said. “I watched him deal with the disability of it.”

“He understands the personal impact a spinal cord injury has on his patients,” says Donna Sullivan, project director for Unite 2 Fight Paralysis. “Combined with his efforts in the lab, he recognizes the critical need for therapies and is dedicated to moving them to the bedside.”

Sullivan said Tansey joined her organization’s Scientific Advisory Board three years ago to support U2FP’s efforts to provide critical oversight to organizations funding research.

“Keith has been generous in offering both his time and

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When he moved to Mississippi, Dr. Keith Tansey decided to indulge his desire for a nerdy tag. A synapse is the nervous system structure that allows passage of signals between nerve cells, the fundamental connection in neural circuits.

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talents to making the board’s efforts successful,” she said. “He encourages those around him to aim higher in understanding the complex mechanisms related to how a therapy works and specifically who it may help with a high regard for patient safety.”

Tansey said SCI research runs the gamut, from animal studies focused on the holy grail of helping the paralyzed walk again to those that address rehab strategies to improve quality of life.

All are relevant, but the competition for grant funding has a way of creating work silos. To counter the isolationism, Tansey wants to encourage more interaction amongst and between the more than 500 researchers and clinicians who are ASIA members.

“We can either spin in our own little circles or figure out a way to journey down the path together,” he said.

The same type of cooperation is tantamount to Tansey’s success in Mississippi. And thanks to a 2014 academic affiliation agreement between MRC and UMMC, collaboration is being encouraged through the university’s new Neuro Institute.

Tansey said a shared goal is to create a system where acute care and rehab physicians are working together almost as soon as a spinal cord injury patient arrives at UMMC.

“This could help limit complications and improve a patient’s rehab potential once they’re transferred to MRC,” he said.

“My goal is to be in patients’ rooms early on and get them over to rehab. And when they’re getting ready to leave rehab, I’ll say: ‘So glad you’re going home, but there are two research studies we’re doing downstairs in the human lab that you might be eligible

for if you’re interested.’”Those interested in participating in

spinal cord injury research at Methodist

Rehabilitation Center should call 601-364-3424 or send a message to research@mmrcrehab.org.

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Most people do it all day without thinking.

They open their mouths to talk, to eat, to yawn, to laugh, to sneeze and more. It’s all made possible by a pair of ball and socket joints that move the mouth open and shut on demand.

But what if those essential joints eroded, locking the mouth shut?

It’s the scenario Taylor Brown of Brandon has lived with for most of her seven years.

So you’ll have to forgive the giggly second-grader if she gets a bit giddy around all her favorite foods now. Her new ability to binge on everything from Krystals to Krispy Kremes was more than six years in the making.

Taylor’s latest treatment brought her to Methodist Outpatient Rehabilitation in Flowood, where she finished almost a year of specialized physical therapy in October.

“They were wonderful,” said her mother, Tamika Winters. “Whenever Taylor didn’t want to do therapy, they were patient and waited until she calmed down so they could finish. She’d get tired, but she’d take it like a trouper.”

At Methodist, Taylor underwent manual therapy, a hands-on treatment used to relieve muscle spasms, release tension and improve flexibility in the joints.

“One of the reasons I ended up with Taylor is there are few people in town who treat temporomandibular joints (TMJ) with manual therapy,’” said Joe Jacobson, a physical therapist and director of outpatient services for Methodist Rehabilitation Center. “I am board certified in orthopedic physical therapy, and I did a residency program in orthopedic manual therapy.”

While Jacobson has years of experience using manual therapy, he expected Taylor wouldn’t be an easy case.

“The big challenge with her is the therapy can be painful, and she’s a kid,” he said. “I was going to have to put my fingers in her mouth to stretch it and open it.

Initially, she was a little bit of a problem.”“The first time, I would fight him,”

Taylor admits. But she said she liked that Jacobson “let me bite his fingers.”

It also helped that Methodist staff bought toys for Taylor, and she was allowed to take one home after every therapy session. “Once that started, it made a big difference,” Jacobson said. “She was a very good sport.”

A veteran of three surgeries, Taylor certainly is no stranger to medical settings. She was just a baby when a bacterial infection damaged her temporomandibular joints. And it wasn’t just her ability to eat that was affected.

Dr. Ronald Caloss, an oral-maxillofacial surgeon at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, first worked on Taylor’s jaw to treat severe obstructive sleep apnea.

The then 2-year-old would have obstructive episodes some 200 times an hour, he said. So something had to be done.

“Because her jaw was severely recessed from her previous TMJ infection, she either had to have a tracheotomy (a surgical procedure that opens up the windpipe) or her jaw moved forward to treat her obstructive sleep apnea,” Caloss said.

Slowly pushing apart the bone to lengthen her lower jaw proved the preferred

method, and the procedure reduced Taylor’s obstructive episodes to two an hour.

But her eating problems weren’t so easily resolved. A few years after her first surgery, Taylor developed ankyloysis in her jaw. Her TMJ had fused, causing abnormal stiffness and immobility.

While she could eat some soft foods by mouth, “she was failing to thrive,” Caloss said.

“She wasn’t getting enough food, and she was just so small,” said her mother.

“It got so bad, she had to have a feeding tube,” Jacobson said.

Fortunately, this was around the same time that doctors decided to schedule an artificial joint replacement for Taylor. At age 5, she would become one of the youngest patients to undergo the surgery at UMMC.

Caloss said implanting the metal ball and plastic socket took about four hours and was “very complicated” because of Taylor’s abnormal anatomy.

“I was worried about the anesthesia and how she would react,” Winters said. So she was grateful all went well.

Taylor underwent another surgery about a year later to clear out scar tissue and extra bone that had grown around the joint. And Winters said she was no less nervous the second time around.

“It terrified me,” she said. “She was in

By Susan ChristensenHealth and Research News Service

Open and Shut Case7-year-old overcomes locked jaw via therapy at Methodist Rehab and surgeries at University of Mississippi Medical Center

Taylor Brown, 7, is giddy about gobbling up all her favorite foods now that surgery and therapy have helped her overcome a locked jaw.

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there eight hours, and they were planning on four. The scar tissue was just so bad.”

After surgery, Taylor still needed therapy to restore normal movement in her jaw. And on Caloss’ recommendation, the job fell to Jacobson.

In addition to the manual therapy at Methodist, Taylor also underwent ultrasound and sessions with a therapeutic device known as the HIVAMAT 200.

The device uses an alternating electrostatic field to create deep oscillation pulsations. The treatment is gently delivered via the hands of therapists and helps with swelling, muscle tension, poor blood circulation, sprains and strains, fibrous build-up from surgical trauma, arthritis and other degenerative joint problems.

The soothing therapy was a favorite of Taylor’s. “She’d even go to sleep,” said her mother. “Then Joe would have to wake her up, and she didn’t like that.”

The burden of getting a somewhat

reluctant Taylor to therapy fell on her parents, and her medical team said their commitment was critical to her care.

“It was hard to get her to therapy when she was at school and I was at work,” Winters said. But everyone worked with the family’s schedule, and Winters said she could tell the therapy mattered.

“Pretty much from the get-go, I could see the difference,” she said. “One particular time, we went there and her jaw was so tight. But after they used an instrument on her, it was, Wow! She went from this number to that number and it was a blessing. Without the therapy, she wouldn’t have gotten so far.”

Joe Jacobson, a physical therapist at Methodist Outpatient Rehabilitation in Flowood, uses a therapeutic device known as the HIVAMAT 200 to work on tightness in Taylor Brown’s jaw. The device uses an alternating electrostatic field to create deep oscillation pulsations that can help with swelling, muscle tension and fibrous build-up from surgical trauma.

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Baptist Hospice grants ‘Priceless Wish’To faithful MSU fan

The highlight of this Valentine’s Day for Leroy Langford of Columbus wasn’t a box of chocolate candy, a fancy card or a bunch of heart-shaped balloons. His best Valentine gift was oblong shaped and signed by Mississippi State University head football Coach Dan Mullen and delivered by former MSU quarterback Tyson Lee.

Since coming under the care of Baptist Hospice Golden Triangle, the staff learned that Langford, a self-described ‘ardent’ MSU fan, was pretty crazy about the Bulldogs. So much that in years past, he held annual season tickets for three sports at MSU - football, basketball and baseball.

The delivery of the autographed football was made possible through the Baptist Hospice Priceless Wish program and the generosity of Lee, who donated his time to the cause.

Funded through the Memphis-based Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation,

the Priceless Wish program provides an end-of-life wish to hospice patients. While some of these wishes may be small – a last anniversary dinner with a loved one, a family portrait, a birthday party or a fishing trip – they can also be incredibly meaningful to the patient and their family.

Most hospice patients realize that this may be their last special celebration, which makes the occasion bittersweet. But the impact it can have on them and their family by creating a lasting memory is incredibly meaningful.

Langford has been a Mississippi State University fan for more than 20 years. After working for many years as a self-employed electrician, he stayed active after retirement by selling restaurant supplies and helping others when he had the chance. He said he has always tried to do the ‘right thing’ by others, a trait supported by his wife Barbara. “He would always give someone a

second chance and did anything he could to help those less fortunate,” she said of her husband.

So, it was very appropriate that on Valentine’s Day 2017, a day when people the world over celebrate love, that Baptist Hospice Golden Triangle and a former MSU Bulldog teamed up to recognize Langford for his decades of love and support for the MSU Bulldogs and to honor his life of helping others.

The Priceless Wish program is made possible through the support and contributions of many. To make a donation that will impact Baptist Hospice patients, you can do so through the secure website https://www.bmhgiving.org/foundation-donate or mail a donation to the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation, 350 Humphreys Blvd., Memphis, TN 38120 and specify it is to go to the Priceless Wishes program.

Former Mississippi State University quarterback Tyson Lee presents a football autographed by MSU head football Coach Dan Mullen to Baptist Hospice Golden Triangle patient and faithful MSU sports fan Leroy Langford of Columbus as part of the Priceless Wish program. Funded through the Memphis-based Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation, the Priceless Wish program provides an end-of-life wish to hospice patients.

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North Mississippi Medical Center and Children’s of Mississippi have partnered with local pediatricians to form Children’s Clinic-Tupelo and Children’s Clinic-Saltillo.

Children’s of Mississippi is the umbrella organization that includes all pediatric care affiliated with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, including Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson.

A Children’s Clinic will open in each of the former North Mississippi Pediatrics, P.A., locations at 1573 Medical Park Circle in Tupelo and 108 Desert Cove in Saltillo. Drs. Benjamin Meeks, Charles Robertson, Van Stone, Eric Street and Veronica Valdez and nurse practitioner Danielle Woodruff will continue to see patients at the Tupelo location. Drs. Jennifer Grisham, Thomas Ireland and Amy Price, and nurse practitioner Tina King, will continue to treat patients in Saltillo.

Both clinics are open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Appointments may be made for either clinic by calling (662) 844-9885 or 1-800-THE DESK (1-800-843-3375).

“Children’s of Mississippi has the expertise in pediatrics—both from a clinical and practice management point of view,” said Ellen Friloux, administrator for NMMC Women and Children’s Services. “We felt like aligning with a children’s health

system would bring that pediatric expertise and really move us toward excellence. The University of Mississippi Medical Center is certainly a credible partner to assist us in this endeavor.”

Friloux said that while the locations and experienced medical staff remain the same, “we believe that the experience of Children’s of Mississippi will bring a fresh approach to the practice operations in addition to gains in efficiency, quality and service to families in our region.”

The medical staff will be employed by NMMC, while the clinic staff will be employed by UMMC. Both will share management responsibilities. “This arrangement allows the health providers to focus on quality of care, while we can focus on managing the practice,” she said. “By doing so, both should improve.”

Friloux said renovations are planned for the Tupelo clinic and will begin soon. “We are also looking to grow pediatric primary care in this area to make it more accessible to our community,” she said.

Karen Dowling, Children’s of Mississippi chief ambulatory operations officer, said the partnership allows the best of care to be available to north Mississippi families. “Our vision at Children’s of Mississippi is to touch the life of every child in the state, so offering care close to home for families

is one of our goals as an organization. By partnering with NMMC and local pediatricians, we can give children in north Mississippi a healthy start in life.”

Children’s of Mississippi already has a presence in Tupelo. In January 2015 a pediatric specialty clinic opened at 240 Service Drive, Building 2, Suite D, at Journal Business Park off South Green Street. This clinic houses pediatric endocrinologists Drs. Jessica Lilley and Sara Silver, pediatric cardiologists Drs. Salwa Gendi and Frank Osei, and dietitian/pediatric nutrition specialist Deborah Stone. Pediatric orthopaedist Dr. Wade Shrader, pediatric surgeon Dr. Christopher Blewett and child development specialists also offer monthly or quarterly clinics at that location.

In addition, Children’s of Mississippi staffs pediatric hospitalists 24 hours daily at NMMC Women’s Hospital. Dr. Viswanath Gajula and other providers consult with pediatric patients in the NMMC Emergency Department and provide hospital care for children on the Pediatrics unit at Women’s Hospital.

George Hand is serving as director of operations and business development for Children’s of Mississippi in Tupelo. For more information about Children’s Clinic, visit www.nmhs.net/nmmc_childrens_clinic.php.

NMMC, Children’s of Mississippi Partner on Children’s Clinic of Tupelo & Saltillo

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